But not too comfortable. The "urban living room" furniture, designed by the Rockwell Group to evoke the lavish look of the Pullman-car era, is fashioned out of DuPont Corian® -gernerally known as the stuff kitchen counters are made of. "We wanted to create something permanent and durable, something that would withstand graffiti and years of wear," says senior designer Barry Richards, "something that was, at the same time, appealing and inviting." In addition to not over-evoking the residential kitchen, the challenge was to make multiple stone-cold parts look like a single cushiony piece. In order to achieve this paradoxically solid luxe, fabricators at Sterling Surfaces and Sterling-Miller Designs heat-formed 16 pieces of Corian® and fused them together with the human body in mind. Inspiration from traditional fabrics like mohair and leather translates into the textured look of the Corian®. "We kept sending them (Sterling) swatches so they could mimic the flecks and sheen; the crunchies in the Corian® suggest mohair upholstery," explains Richards, "It's like the classic wing chair meets the Jetsons."  -Pilar Guzman